Mechanical Hearts
by Mint
Summary: Otaru was kidnapped and the marionettes leave to search for him. Along the way they start asking which one of the three would Otaru choose to be with romanticaly and things start to go wrong. A journey of friendship, trust, love and a lot of arguing.
1. Missing Part

**Mechanical hearts**

Chapter 1: Missing part

_Otaru, my golden prince, rode his white horse through the vast green fields, towards the tower I was kept on. I could see his hero face determined to save me, his beautiful pink princess, trapped in the castle's higher tower of evil Fausto, the tyrant that wants to marry me by force. But I love my dearest white prince, coming for my rescue__ in this fullmoon night. He slays the gate's guards with his sword and fierce courage and enters the castle. There he is, fighting the mighty dragon, castle keeper and ugly beast! Otaru also slays the dragon, his eyes upon the window of my tower. Fausto comes to kill him but my Otaru defeats him easily. I hear a bang on the door and it flies open with his kick, letting me see my saviour, my hero. "Otaru…" I call him, dreamily. "Cherry…" He comes to me and holds me in his strong arms. "Otaru…" I whisper, my lips close to his. "Cherry…" He calls again closing his eyes to kiss me… _

"Ah snap out of it." Bloodberry's voice came interrupting as so her punch on Cherry's head.

"Heeeeeeeeeey! I was day dreaming!" Cherry complained yelling at the red haired marionette, scratching the back of her head which had just been hit. "You'll pay for this." She mumbled, glaring at her tall friend.

"Oh! Welcome home Otaru!" Lime greeted lively as the young boy walked through the door, head down, taking his shoes off not saying a word. "Is something wrong?" Lime asked, the other two turned their attention in Otaru's sad expression.

"Hello girls." He sighed. "It's nothing, I'll be fine." He made an effort to smile back at the three, but soon the smile vanished and he walked to the bathroom. "I'm going to take a bath." And with that, he slid the door close behind him.

"Otaru doesn't look fine." Lime said, her eyes on the bathroom's door.

"Wonder if something happened today at his work…" Cherry looked around at the other two marionettes.

"Maybe he's getting tired of you always on top of him." Bloodberry looked at Cherry.

"Hey! Otaru loves me!" She replied angrily, showing her fist.

_Tired… of Cherry? Of us? Of me?_ Lime thought silently. She looked again at the bathroom's door.

Night had fallen soon enough. After dinner, Otaru came outside to sit on the wooden porch of their house drinking tea, followed minutes later by Lime, who sat next to him, legs pending.

"Otaru…" She called, looking down at her feet, avoiding looking directly at him.

"Yes?" He blinked at her.

"Are you tired of us?" Lime asked, her fingers making round movements on the wooden floor.

"What?" Otaru widened his eyes, and placed his teacup down next to him. "Why are you asking that? I will never get tired of you… three, you three." He quickly completed, blushing slightly. He looked closely at Lime, wondering if he had done something that would have caused Lime to think like that. They, the marionettes, were his family, his life, he didn't want to lose them, and he would die if he lost them.

"It's because when you got home today. You looked so sad and then Bloodberry said you were just tired of Cherry, but if you're tired of Cherry and you like us all the same then you must be tired of me and Bloodberry too." Lime looked up at him, her dark green eyes watering. It broke his heart.

"Lime…" Otaru lifted his hand to touch her hair, fixing her fringe of her eyes. His heart beat fast, he could feel it almost hitting his chest to come out. "I will never get tired of you." He said, but then, his head fell down again sighing. "The landlord came to me today. I don't pay the bills of the house for three months because I just don't have the money to give him. He said to find a way to pay quickly or we'll have to leave." Otaru looked serious, eyes looking in the distance blankly, thinking about his problems. Lime opened her mouth in shock.

"Otaru…" Lime called, her hand slipped to his. "We'll find a way!"

"What is this that's going on here?" They heard a gasp coming from the door. Cherry stood there, glaring at Lime for being hand in hand with Otaru. "I want his hand too!" And with that, she sat on the other side of Otaru and reaching for his hand she lifted it to her cheek and caressed it, smiling.

"Don't tell them." He quickly whispered to Lime who nodded but looked worriedly at him. Seconds later, Bloodberry came outside too and hugged Otaru from the back. They stood there, the four of him, outside in the night, talking as things were perfect, and they were, that moment they were.

* * *

"CHERRYYYYYY!! BLOODBEEEERRYYYY!!" Lime called from the living room the next morning, her screams piercing through the other two marionettes' ears as they jumped out of their beds.

"This better be important Lime." Bloodberry growled reaching her with sleeping eyes almost closing.

"Otaru is missing! He's not here!" Lime said in panic.

"So? He probably went to work already. It's early but sometimes he does that." Cherry comforted her.

"No…" The dark blue-haired marionette shook her head. "I was waiting for him to wake up but I never heard him, so I got up thinking he had fallen asleep but he wasn't there on the bed and it was undone. The window is opened, look!" She pointed at the burst opened window. "And his room is in a mess." They looked around, the bed sheets were scattered around the floor, his closet had its doors broken, his clothes all around and his work tools were still there. Lime couldn't believe he was gone. The idea of living without him scared her. He always took care of them and them of him. Not having Otaru there was a missing part of her being.

"What could have happened?" Bloodberry widened her eyes.

"Last night…" Lime started. "He told me he didn't pay the rent for three months and the landlord came to threaten him. OTARU WAS KIDNAPPED!" Lime shrieked in shock. The other two looked worried at each other.

"We have to do something. Hey why didn't he tell us anything about that?" Cherry asked frowning an eyebrow.

"That doesn't matter right now, what are we waiting for?" Bloodberry tightened her gloves. "Let's find this landlord."

"Let's!" Cherry stretched her arm above her head but stopped. "Where do we start? I don't know where this landlord person lives."

"We should ask Hanagata!" Lime suggested.

* * *

"WHAT?!" Hanagata screamed in disbelief. "My Otaru was kidnapped by his landlord?"

"We didn't say that, we said we think he was." Cherry closed her eyes as she spoke.

"WHAT?!" Hanagata screamed again. "You think my Otaru was kidnapped by his landlord?!"

"You see, wait. First of all, he's OUR Otaru, not yours. And second…" Bloodberry gripped his clothes by the neck and lifted him close to her face. "Stop repeating things and help us. Tell us where this landlord lives."

"I don't know. I think he lives in the main avenue, next to the market because I've seen Otaru talking to him once there. But I'm not certain, his name is Yamato Kenshin please put me down." Hanada pleaded shrieking. Bloodberry sighed and dropped him to the floor, making him fall on his back. "Why didn't him come to me, I could have lent him the money!" He said scratching his back from the fall.

"Maybe because he thinks you're a leach and doesn't want anything to do with you." Bloodberry replied, shaking her hands on one another.

"Come on! You know Otaru doesn't think like that!" Hanagata cried.

"Thank you for the information, we'll be going now." Lime informed as they turned their back at him and walked away.

"Wait! Wait!" Hanada ran after them.

"What now?" Cherry sighed, turning around.

"Let me go with you! I'll help you save him and then he can see how strong and brave I am and fall for me!" Hanagata dreamed.

"Not a chance." Cherry turned and walked away.

"You'll see, you useless robots!" He said glaring at the three in the distance.

* * *

Reaching the market place, the three marionettes stopped in the middle of the main square, looking around at all the men gathered there, busy buying fruit and meat, the noise around made the streets full of life. What made it difficult was the series of look-alike houses around the square.

"How do we find him?" Lime asked looking amazed at everything.

"Please, you surprise me." Cherry closed her eyes talking superior. She put her hand next to her eyes and pressed it. A blue screen appeared in her right eyes, scanning every house around. White small letters kept appearing from the bottom and up as the information gathered in the screen. "Wait…" She said. "Wait…" Again. "HA! Mr. Yamato Kenshin lives right there!" She pointed in front of them to a house equally white and two stored up like the others next to it. "Let's go!" They all ran towards the place Cherry pointed. In a blink, Bloodberry kicked the door open with all her might, making a cloud of dust appear where it stood seconds before. As the dust faded, an old curved man with a pair of round glasses hanging in the very end of his nose stood there blinking at the marionettes.

"Very well, where's Otaru?" Bloodberry walked to him glaring.

"Hum… Bloodberry easy, he's an old man!" Cherry smiled embarrassed.

"I don't care! Where is him?" The red haired asked again getting down at the old man's eye level."

"Who?" A very faint voice asked coming from the man's mouth.

"You know who! Don't make a fool out of me you monster! Where's Otaru?" Bloodberry growled.

"I don't know anything about an Otaru…" The man said, shaking in fear, his eyes barely seeing three unfocused silhouettes.

"Bloodberry I don't think he knows…" Cherry whispered.

"Aren't you Mr. Yamato Kenshin?" Lime asked finally.

"No… I'm Mr. Hanuka." The man replied in a shaking voice. "Mr. Yamato lives next door."

"Oh… Oh!" Bloodberry blushed. "I'm so sorry Mr. Hanuka! I'll fix the door for you! We're so sorry! Please forgive the intrusion, we thought you were Mr. Yamato."

"It's alright…" The old man coughed.

The three marionettes laughed nervously and started heading for the exit. Bloodberry lifted the door she had kicked off and placed it on the door frame where it stood crooked and half broken in two.

"Cherry this was your fault!" Bloodberry complained.

"Sorry, I must have been nervous!" Cherry explained smiling in embarrassment.

"Look!" Lime exclaimed pointing to some guy that had just left the house next door, glanced at them and started running away for his life. "It's him!"

With that, the three started running away after the bold man. Bloodberry jumped to the roofs to follow, Lime went between the people along with Cherry.

_-End of chapter 1_

Authors note: Hi! This is my first fanfic about SMJ so please could you help me know what you think? Please review and I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! )


	2. Despair

**Chapter 2: Despair**

_Something is not right… How could they get into our house and take Otaru without any of us noticing? They must be professional criminals._ Bloodberry thought as she chased the man, from roof top to roof top not loosing sight of him. But as soon as those thoughts crossed her mind, the man trips on a rock, falls flat on the ground and stays there moaning. _Or maybe not… _

Soon, the man on the ground heard squeaking sounds in the distance getting clearer in his ears until they stopped loudly close to his head where he saw a pair of yellow shoes. Lime reached for the tall bald man and lifted him off the ground and up in the air by the neck with one arm.

"Where's Otaru?" She asked firmly, her voice a determined tone, her face contracted in a glare. Bloodberry jumped to the ground as Cherry reached for them too.

"I don't know I swear!" The man gasped while Lime tightened her hand around his neck.

"But you know something!" Bloodberry growled at him.

"Lime, the man can't breathe!" Cherry exclaimed as she looked at the man's hairless head which was now turning blue. But what was worrying Cherry was Lime's attitude towards the man. She didn't care what he felt, he had to pay for what he did to Otaru, was or wasn't him the guilty one. Her eyes looked blankly at him, her lips pressed in a motionless line. Only her hand moved to close on his neck.

"I…" The man gasped again moving his legs frenetically while fighting for air.

"LIME!" Cherry yelled again. Lime blinked as if waking up to what she was doing and opened her hand, letting lose the man who fell onto the floor heavily, lifting his hands to his neck and gasping for air.

"Now tell us!" Bloodberry yelled.

"Last I saw him…" The man paused sucking in some air. "Was yesterday when I went to talk to him about the rent."

"You wanted to throw us out!" Lime replied.

"I told him that but I was never going to do it!" The man looked up at them from the floor. "I just said that because I needed the money urgently. Times are tough you know, and I owe some dangerous people the money. Maybe if I said that, Otaru would pay me."

"Money doesn't grow on trees you know!" Cherry said in disbelief. "If Otaru didn't pay you was because he couldn't!"

"If you don't know where he is why did you run away when you saw us?" Bloodberry asked, crossing her arms to her chest.

"I panicked. I thought you had come to punish me for telling those things to your master. Please don't hurt me, anymore." The man shook in fear, looking at Lime.

"I don't think this is the man we're looking for." Cherry said in a sad tone. "He's too scared, too sissy to kidnap someone. And he knows what we would do to him if he had."

"Can I go please?" They heard the man say from the ground. Bloodberry motioned for him to leave waving her hand and in a split second the man got up and ran away, never looking back.

"Lime… what happened to you?" Cherry turned to the blue haired marionette.

"It's Otaru Cherry…" She replied seriously. "I miss him and I can't stand not knowing what happened to him or if he's not fine. We need to find him."

"What are we going to do now?" Bloodberry asked looking at the two.

"I think we should go see Lorelei." Cherry suggested, they all agreed.

* * *

_Lime… Cherry… Bloodberry… _

Otaru slowly opened his eyes and saw darkness, he blinked a couple of times to make his eyes get used to the dark. He felt his lips taped and his eyes tied behind his back. He moaned trying to sit up and noticed his abdominals hurt. Looking around, he noticed he was being kept on a small room with a wooden square table and chairs in the middle. The floor was full of dust and one single window had been covered with wood boards screwed on the wall, letting some daylight in between the cracks. He tried to move his hands but the knot was so strong that soon enough the rope started rubbing his skin, burning his wrists. He tried screaming a muffled noise from his throat but it was useless. No one came and he heard nothing.

_Where am I? How are Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry without me? _He thought worried, thinking about the three with images of them smiling in his head. He missed them and it had only been a couple of hours. He, himself wasn't quite sure what had happened to him. He was sleeping when a strong hand covered his mouth not to scream while others held his arms and legs to take him away through the window and then he woke up there. _I need to get out of here._

* * *

"LoreleiOtaruwaskidnappedweneedyourhelp"

"PleaseyouhavetohelpusLorelei!"

"Please can you all have a sit and tell me what happened! One at the time!" Lorelei had to raise her voice at the three marionettes that kept talking and shrieking at the same time making her not understand a word they were saying.

"Someone took Otaru!" Bloodberry cried.

"What?" Lorelei blinked.

"We woke up this morning and his bedroom was in a mess, he wasn't there and he didn't go to work. No one knows where Otaru is!" Cherry informed, her eyes watering at the cold truth.

"We thought you could help us, maybe you knew something or have a clue where Otaru is! We are so worried about Otaru!" Lime pleaded.

"Well…" Lorelei looked around at the three. "I have no idea where he could be…" Lorelei paused for a moment, head down thinking. "But I can ask Faust to put his men on the search and I can ask the saber dolls to help you as well."

"We would be so thankful to you." Cherry bowed.

"Lorelei…" Lime started. "Do you think… Do you think Otaru is fine?"

"Otaru is a strong boy. I'm sure wherever he is, he's trying hard to get back to you. He'll be alright. And I'm sure we'll find him soon. You four are inseparable. The love he has for you all will keep him going."

"Where do you think we should go next?" Bloodberry cut off the silence that had formed between the woman and marionettes.

"I suggest you go home for now." Lorelei got up. "I'm going to inform Faust of what happened and ask for his help, once I have some news I'll inform you. It has been a long day I can see, you should go rest."

* * *

"I can't rest!" Bloodberry punched the wooden table the three marionettes sat around once at home. Shaking, the red-haired marionette gritted her teeth.

"The house is so empty without Otaru here." Lime whispered, resting her forehead on the same table.

"Because if he was here, we would all be fighting for his attention. The house isn't lively anymore." Cherry let out a blank smile as she remember the long fights the girls always had to grasp a piece of clothing from Otaru.

Outside the streets were calm, the cold night breeze kept people inside their houses covered in slim blankets watching television while the three marionettes worried about their loved-one.

"Who… do you think Otaru cares for the most?" Bloodberry asked all of suddon, looking around at the two.

"Me of course!" Cherry rapidly answered without thinking.

"HA!" Bloodberry let out a loud gasp. "Please don't make me laugh. It's obvious he likes me the most I just asked so I could tell you that! Have you seen the way he looks at me?"

"Otaru only looks at you because of those huge things you have on your chest! But it's clear he has romantic feelings for me!" Cherry replied back, placing her fists on the table and leaning forward to the red-haired.

"The reason Otaru hasn't abandoned you yet is because you clean the house and cook!" Bloodberry returned the gesture.

"Oh that's not true! You little-" Cherry grabbed Bloodberry's hair and pulled while Bloodberry got a grip of her neck.

"Stop! STOP!" Lime cried pulling them apart with her arms, making each one go flying across the room opposite sides hitting the wall.

"Lime!" Cherry stood up fixing her clothes.

"Otaru needs us in one piece!" Lime let some tears roll down her cheeks. "It doesn't matter who he likes best! Right now he needs us all the same. I can't stay here, I'm going to find Otaru." And with that Lime left to the night outside, leaving the other two behind.

_You helped me complete my heart and be fully developed. You showed me the different feelings a human could have even though I am just a marionette. You treated me like I was one of you. Now it's my time to do the same for you. I'm going to find you Otaru if it's the last thing I do._

"OTAAAAAAARUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!" Lime called at the top of her lungs in the middle of the night, making the people inside the house startle and turn on the lights coming outside to see what was happening.


	3. Clearness

Author's note: Hi! Thank you so much for the reviews! I appreciate it! Here's the next chapter, I did it longer like you asked yay! I hope you enjoy!

**Mechanical Hearts**

**Chapters 3: Clearness **

The next morning when the sun had just popped out tearing the sky with shades of violet, Bloodberry and Cherry found Lime sleeping under a tree on the grass curled up on her knees, shaking cold. Cherry looked down at the marionette feeling sorry for being the cause Lime burst out from the door not to return to sleep inside.

Cherry and the red-haired had spent the whole night looking for Lime, thinking that if something happened to her, once they found Otaru, he would never forgive the two. Deep down inside both their circuits, although they didn't want to believe it, they knew Otaru would kill himself for Lime, somehow she was his favourite even if just by a close inch. She was his first marionette and because of her childish, naïve personality it made her seem needier of his attention and protection than the other two.

There were times Cherry felt jealous of Lime just because the way Otaru held Lime's hand was different than the way he held her own. But above that jealousy she felt at times, she couldn't control feeling almost motherly towards Lime. It was simply impossible not to like the blue-haired marionette.

Kneeling down on the floor next to the sleeping girl, she caressed Lime's hair out of her cheek. Mumbling something that looked like "Five more minutes Otaru", Lime slowly and blinking opened her eyes.

"I'm sorry Lime." Cherry asked in a faint voice, her eyes beginning to water. "For the way we acted last night. I'm sorry you slept like this."

"It's ok." Lime lazily kneeled next to her friend and smiled. "We just need to be together and I don't like it when you fight."

"I'm sorry too Lime, you're right. We should go back to the house, you're shaking." Bloodberry helped her friend up.

"Now that we are all friends again, can you make me chocolate milk when we get home?" Lime asked as she accepted the help.

"Hey, don't push it." Bloodberry smiled back at the blue-haired.

"Cherry, Bloodberry?" Lime called looking down at her feet. The others kept walking alongside of Lime but turned their heads to look at her. "I miss Otaru a lot. He always put a leave of mint in my chocolate milk when I asked him to make me one. Sometimes I even started doing one myself and he always said for me to go do something else that he would take care of it himself. Then I would go play outside or join you two doing something and I forgot about the chocolate milk because I got so distracted. And then just as I had forgotten about it, Otaru appeared with the best chocolate milk ever! And there it was the mint leave…"

"Lime…" Cherry smiled softly at the sobbing girl. "You'll get your mint leave back. We will find Otaru."

"I know what you mean…" Bloodberry looked away as she spoke. "There were nights when everyone was asleep that I couldn't so I went downstairs to drink a glass of water. One night Otaru heard some noise from the kitchen and he found me. He said I shouldn't get up every time I couldn't sleep because then it would be harder to fall asleep. After that, every night Otaru took a glass of water and placed it next to my bed just in case I got thirsty. It would calm me down and I wouldn't have to get up."

"I just wished I knew what these people want from him. We're completely lost." Cherry's voice was trembling.

Once the three girls reached their now empty house, heads down thinking where to look for Otaru next, Lorelei waited there accompanied by Luchs and Panther, standing still in front of the sliding doors with anxious eyes and a piece of paper tightly gripped between her hands.

"Lorelei!" Lime called while running towards the group of three.

"Luchs and Panther found something that might be related to Otaru." Lorelei informed, stretching out her hand lending them the piece of paper she had in her hand. Bloodberry took the white sheet on her hand and stretched it open on her hands in order for the others to take a good look at it as well. There in the middle of the piece of paper were written in black ink the words:

**"Lime -JSM-01L**

**Cherry - JSM-02C**

**Blodberry - JSM-03B**

**Target to eliminate: Master – Otaru Mamiya"**

"What does this mean?" Cherry asked in total shock, her hands rising to cover her opened mouth.

"Luchs, Panther, where did you find this?" Bloodberry asked in greethed teeth while closing her hand in a fist and wrinkling the paper with it.

"In the old Japoness History Museum. We were looking for Otaru there like Faust instructed us to help you and there on the ground was that piece of paper and it caught our attention as it had your names written on." Panther informed.

"We thought that was some kind of clue the kidnappers left there. The paper had a stone on top of it so it wouldn't fly. It's really as if someone left it there for someone to find." Luchs added glancing at the trio.

"The Japoness History Museum... That was where Otaru first found me! I was sleeping there!" Lime yelped breaking the silence that had formed.

* * *

Otaru was suddenly awakened by a loud bang on the wooden door and a painful "ouch" coming from the other side of it.

"Stupid door." He heard as a huge, muscled man rounded the door knob and entered the room Otaru was being kept on. The man had a fluffy moustache on top of his thin red upper lip and big round ugly dark eyes almost covered by two fluffy eyebrows matching the moustache of the wrinkled face. He brought a tray balancing on his arm and with his other hand he rubbed his knee making a hurting face as he did. "Just when you think you have the strength to kick open a door to intimidate the kidnapped." He mumbled as he made sure the plate of soup on the tray didn't fall from his arm.

"You hungry?" He growled as he freed Otaru's mouth from the adhesive tape. Otaru tightly closed his eyes as the man did and tried to control the pain he felt as the glue unleashed his skin.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Otaru yelled firmly, his eyes glaring at the man, he couldn't show weakness.

"Three simple things." The man laughed loudly. "One is red, the other one is pink and the other one is blue."

"What…? My clothes…?" Otaru asked in a shriek.

"No you idiot!" The man growled again placing down the tray next to Otaru. "Your marionettes!"

Otaru's eyes widened as the man informed him. Suddenly the world came crashing down on him, he felt numb, sweaty and his blood running fast through his veins. They could take everything from him, but not them, not the girls.

"Why do you want them?" Otaru yelled, frantically agitating his arms and legs trying to break free from the ropes holding his wrists and ankles but once again with no success. "Who are you?" Otaru yelled again, his eyes watering from the pain the ropes were causing each time they rubbed his skin, from his sore body that had to lay down at night in the same position on the cold hard floor, but mostly from the thought of his girls being in danger.

"He is just a mere servant I arranged." A calm motionless voice came from the door where a not much older than Otaru man stood, dressed in a navy blue suit with shiny perfectly pulled back dark hair and small stretched eyes of a dark gazing blue. A smirk formed on his pink wrinkled lips, making his face almost delightfully evil.

"A mere servant? Aah come on I have to be more than that!" The muscled man complained but as he wanted to continue saying his rights out loud, the young adult lifted his hand in sign for the man to be quite.

"Leave." He coolly demanded and the other one obeyed mumbling some curse words as he left the room. Something in that young man was already irritating Otaru, the look in his eyes was devilish but hollow at the same time.

"Who are you?" Otaru asked again, impatiently sighing that he was asking that question a little but more than what he intended to.

"My name is Lucas. I was once a soldier of Faust's army. One of the best, if not the most brilliant one." The young man started talking, walking slowly around the one wooden table that stood still in the middle of the abandoned room, and distractedly letting the tip of his finger slide down the surface of the table in a perfect line as he walked by its side. His eyes stared blankly at the air as if he was silently seeing the images of an army of men holding their shot guns on their arms, causing panic all around were they passed. He carried a smirk on his lips as he did. "I served Faust for many years since a young age. I trained everyday to reach perfection so to be close to Faust, to learn from him, to be there by his side once he ruled all of Terra II. He was a master, a role-model for me. I was more than just a soldier by the end. I was like a brother to him, he trusted me to help him get what he wanted. But then…"

His expression now turned serious, his hands curved into tight fists. "I lost Faust. He was charmed by the angelic figure he kept painted in his room. Lorelei. The great man who would once rule this entire planet, had fallen because of the curse of a woman!" He yelled slamming his fist on the table. "But now it's my time to rise. I will continue what some time ago Faust started but I won't fail, I won't fail because I have what it takes to rule, to be the leader of all. No woman will ever stop me from creating an empire by my hands."

"And how do you intend to do that?" Otaru interrupted, a feeling of revolt in his stomach by the fool's words.

"That's where you enter." The young man turned at Otaru, smirking again. "Your marionettes are what I need to complete my goals. You see, their maiden circuits or how you marionettes' lovers like to call them, hearts, are going to be last ones I get from all the maiden circuits I've already started to steal. Once I get all of the maiden circuits in Japoness, the marionettes will become what they really were meant to be. Simple puppets controlled by men to do their chores, to work for men. But before that, they need to do me the favor of helping me conquer all of Terra II. You see… my army will be the marionettes."

"You're insane." Otaru laughed. "There's no way you're getting all of the maiden circuits from marionettes. Their masters won't agree and once they start noticing they have been stolen they'll hunt you like a dog."

"You're so close-minded my friend." Lucas's lips formed a thin smirk. "The ones that don't give me their marionette's maiden circuit freely… Are left with something more painful than not having their marionettes' feelings, for say, a broken arm, a broken leg, most of them never walk again you know, it's a shame. And the ones that happily provide to me of their marionettes and the maiden circuits are offered a very important place in my group of close friends."

"So why not just giving me that special treatment too? Why did you bring me here?" Otaru was now repulsed by the man standing in front of him.

"I am not stupid Otaru. I know what your marionettes are capable of. Once my men got near them they would kill them in a blink. But getting to you first would make your marionettes completely low their guard. I'm sure they will do anything to have you back safe and sound. Once I get them desperate enough they will do anything I ask of them, and I mean anything. You want to know the one I like most?"

Lucas leaned down to get his mouth close to Otaru's ear and whispered "Lime" before he started laughing loudly. It was as if Otaru had been stroke by lightning, fury ran through his blood madly, his heart could come bursting out his chest just by beating fast. With all his might, he balanced on his feet in order to lift from the floor and with his head he hit Lucas head making a loud thud echo through the room's walls, Otaru remembered seeing a vertical line on blood run down Lucas' face and his wide open eyes staring astonished down at him, next thing, two different men came running towards him from the door and then it was dark.

* * *

There's something about marionettes. They are not just simple dolls that will do anything you tell them to whenever you like but more than that, they have feelings, they have their stages of life, they grow up mentally, they learn things but most important of all, they are capable of feeling back every kind of feeling you have towards them.

That was something Otaru learnt from the marionettes. Every time he felt happy to have them there with him, so did they to have Otaru as their friend. When he found Lime, Otaru remembers thinking "what have I gotten myself into now?" but as she stayed with him he noticed he liked having Lime around him, more than just a marionette she was his friend. This lively, playful, cheerful sort of woman had wakened in Otaru feelings he thought would never have in a planet where only men lived. But he didn't see Lime like that. At least, not until the others joined them.

Cherry… The sweetest girl he had ever met, she was kind, she was quite and gentle and she loved cooking for everyone as well as taking care of the house. If Otaru had some time before dreamt of having a wife, Cherry would fill the idea of it perfectly. She took care of him when he was sick, he caressed his hair until he slept and she was the sweetest person to talk to when he felt lonely.

When Bloodberry appeared though, Otaru had never thought women could be like that at all. She was impulse, always talked her mind, she was loud and was constantly trying to make Otaru touch her. From all the others, she was the one who physically touched Otaru the most. She hugged him whenever she felt like it, she kissed him on the cheeks and dressed sexy clothes to call for his attention.

There were times even Otaru asked himself what he had done to deserve three perfect girls in his life. And for all they had done for him, he couldn't give up. No, they wouldn't turn into motionless, heartless puppets. Otaru opened his eyes.

* * *

There in the back alley of a darkened street stood a man dressed in white, leaned back on the wall, the shadows covering his face, waiting for something. He coolly tied his neck bow tightly close to his throat so it would remain in place…

"Ok, too tight!" The mysterious man gasped freeing his throat back a little more. The sound of squeaking footsteps could be heard in the distance getting closer by the second. This time, he would stop them with his fierce courage and strength. The running footsteps were getting louder, they were close. In a brick of a second the man stood out of the shadows into the sunlight of the adjacent street he had been watching. Hanagata jumped to their way, arms stretched wide open.

"This time you'll let me help you look for Otaru!" He yelled, but the three marionettes, unstoppably ran over him not minding he got stepped on.

"Not now Hanagata." One of them said as they continued running fast through the street.

"Damn you…" Hanagata muffled on the ground, his hand twitching from the sudden weight of the foot that had stepped on it.

* * *

The girls ran as if they were running for their lives with one thought only in their minds, "Target to eliminate – Mamiya Otaru", that line was ringing in their ears, where was he? Was Otaru ok? They had to know.

As soon as Luchs finished telling them where they had found the paper containing their names and series, the next thing they thought about were the places where the other two had been found. If the kidnappers left a note where Lime had been sleeping, maybe they left one too where Cherry and Bloodberry had been asleep as well and that's where they were headed. They saw nothing in front of them but the Castle Japoness, the place Cherry was found.

They weren't sure they would find something there, maybe the history museum was just a coincidence but they had to find out. They had searched every inch of Japoness not to mention the help Faust was giving them with his men and nothing. Maybe they would find hope in the Castle.

* * *


	4. Fragments of memories: Lime's unconditio

**Mechanical Hearts**

**Chapter 4**

**Fragments of memories: Lime's unconditional love.**

"Otaru?" The young man heard his name being called at a distance but paid no importance to it as he was comfortably sleeping in his warm bed. "OtaruOtaruOtaruOtaruOtaruOtaru!" The voice repeatedly called as there had been no source of response from Otaru.

"Wha- What?!" He quickly sat on his bed, blinking his eyes looking around the dark room faintly illuminated from the lamps outside and the moonlight coming from the window. Forcing his eyes to get used to the darkened bedroom, he saw Lime's figure sitting in front of him dressed in her black bodysuit. "Is something wrong Lime?" He asked lazily, his eyes almost closed from sleepiness.

"Otaru, what is a hottie?" Lime innocently asked, smiling at him.

"What?" Otaru's eyes now widened at the question. If he had been sleepy a second earlier, he was now totally awake. "Lime, did you just wake me up to ask me that?"

"It's that Bloodberry is always arguing with Cherry about how she's a hottie and Otaru thinks she's a hottie and Cherry is not a hottie!" Lime informed. "I still don't understand what that word means!"

_How the hell…_ "Well…" Otaru sighed scratching the back of his head and looking down blushing. "Hottie means… Well, when someone says 'she's hot', means the girl is… pretty. Yeah, that's it."

"Oh…" Lime looked down thinking for a minute. "Otaru, do you think I'm a hottie?"

"What-"

"If you think I'm pretty!" She leaned forward an inch, getting too close for Otaru's own comfort.

"Well Lime…" Otaru started talking, embarrassed and avoiding her green-eyed gaze. He swallowed and finally looked up at the girl kneeled in front of him. Sure, she was pretty. The faint light coming from the street shined on her hair making it a dark blue reflecting the silver moonlight, her green eyes a piercing curious stare and finally a small mouth with thin pink lips pressed softly forming a gentle smile as she eagerly waited for his answer. He watched as she blinked a couple of times and opened his mouth to speak. "Of course I think you're pretty." He looked attentively at her.

"Otaru thinks I'm pretty!" Lime giggled clapping her hands lively and stretching up her back away from Otaru, he could breathe again. Suddenly, loud running footsteps could be heard from the corridor, the second later the sliding door of Otaru's bedroom opened revealing a glaring Cherry with sparks on her eyes.

"What is going on here?" Cherry asked fuming. "I heard Lime saying that, you, mister, think she's pretty! I want to know what you think about me!"

"Cherry I- I- I-" Otaru choked.

"Yes Otaru what do you think about me too?" Bloodberry joined the conversation passing by Cherry and kneeling down on the floor but above Otaru's legs, her face getting closer to his.

"Hey, get off!" Cherry pulled Bloodberry by the shoulder, away from the sweating young boy in the middle of his sheets. "Tell us master Otaru!"

"I think you're all pretty I swear!" Otaru smiled nervously.

"But you must think one of us is prettier!" Bloodberry insisted.

"Girls, I have to work tomorrow, I should get some sleep."

"Tomorrow is Sunday master Otaru!" Cherry informed. "We need your answer!"

"You are all beautiful I'm telling the truth!" From crawling back on the floor Otaru realized his back touched the wall, nowhere to run now. "You three were the best thing that has ever happened to me. Before you came to my life, I was bored, angry, tired of the life I had but now… Now it's different, I have something to live for, I can be happy around you all. I couldn't imagine myself living without you. It doesn't matter who is prettier, to me you're the most beautiful girls in the universe and I feel so lucky to be with you."

"One day, master Otaru, you'll be able to tell us who completes your heart fully and is not just equal to the others." Cherry spoke smiling warmly.

* * *

They ran through the corridors of the Castle, pushing complaining guards to the side until the men received orders from Faust to let the girls search as they wished. From then, the guards gladly stayed out of the girls' way afraid of getting hurt. Reaching for the very same room Cherry had been sleeping once, Bloodberry kicked the door open with all her might causing it to burst into the room, fly all the way across and shattering the walls in front.

"Seriously, you have to stop kicking doors open and use your hands." Cherry coughed and waved her hand as a cloud of dust formed from the damages.

"I'm too passionate at what I do." Bloodberry replied.

"Here!" They heard Lime's voice from the inside, just realizing that she wasn't there with the two but had already gone to search the large room. Glancing at each other, they rushed in following the blue-haired marionette's callings. "They left something here!"

* * *

It was raining that afternoon. Lime sat cross-legged on the little wooden porch at the back of their house, watching in amusement the rain fall gently on the ground. The air was filled with the smell of wet dirt and the sky was a cloak of grey clouds. She stretched her arm out of the wooden told protecting her above from the rain and opened her hand with the palm up letting the raindrops hit her fingers multiplying into smaller water drops as they did. She giggled as she felt the cold water. Otaru soon joined her on the porch amazed at how the smaller things in life were so important to the girl. It was as if she was looking at the rain for the first time.

"Do you like the rain Lime?" He asked looking at the dark clouds gathering in the sky.

"Once in a while I like that it rains! If it ran everyday I couldn't play outside." Lime answered.

"True." Otaru smiled.

"I like the smell the rain leaves on the ground." Lime turned at him smiling.

"Yeah me too…" Otaru looked to the horizon thoughtfully. "Lime… I've been meaning to ask you something..."

"What is it?"

"Are…" Otaru paused. "Are you happy?"

"Of course I'm happy!" Lime blinked at his question. "I'm surrounded by good friends and I have you as my master! It's great that the person I love is with me everyday."

Otaru smiled at her, glad to hear her answer and feeling exactly the same.

* * *

"Otaru…" Lime's eyes widened as she looked down at the white piece of cloth on her hands. "This is a piece of his shirt."

"What? Let me see." Bloodberry asked taking the white fabric and analysing it attentively. "It is from the shirt he wears to sleep. Poor Otaru… He is being kept with only his white sleeveless shirt and sleeping pants!"

"Let me check!" Cherry reached for the cloth and smelled it, heavily breathing in. "It still has his smell… Oh Otaru, what are they doing to you?"

"There's more." Lime crouched on the floor and picked up a white paper written with the same black ink letters, only this time they could read:

"**Midnight, Japoness main bridge."**

"Finally they decided to show their faces." Bloodberry scanned the white paper more than once. "We'll be there."

* * *

"Otaruuuuuuuu!!" Lime yelled jumping on Otaru's back, placing her arms around his neck causing the cup of tea on his hands to balance letting some drops of tea fly onto the table plus a spray of the liquid spit out of Otaru's mouth. "Come play hide and seek with me!"

"You scared me." Otaru recomposed looking back at the girl. "Again Lime? Go ask Bloodberry or Cherry."

"Cherry is busy, Bloodberry said no." The marionette quickly replied.

"Bloodberry can you go play with Lime?" Otaru asked the red-haired who was across the table boringly reading a magazine.

"No." Was her simple answer.

"Fine…" Otaru sighed. "Go hide and I'll count to twenty."

Lime excitedly breathed in heavily letting out a high-pitched squeak and grinned while getting up before leaving in a blink of a second to go hide.

"Aaaaaaand twenty! Here I come!" Otaru got up.

"Upstairs in the closet." Bloodberry informed, her eyes not lifting from the magazine, her left hand supporting her chin.

"Thanks." Otaru replied, headed for the stairs and directed to the girls' bedroom where Lime was hiding inside the closet, sitting down holding her knees to her chest and peeking out from a small breach left between the door and the wall. "Where could Lime be?" Hearing that, Lime lifted her hands to her mouth in order to control a nervous giggle, and turned her head to the side so she wouldn't sidetrack looking at Otaru from the breach while he was looking around the room for her. It was then she noticed something shining at the tiny light coming from the bedroom's lamp, there on the closet's floor. A photograph. Curious, Lime reached for it and held it close to her eyes letting the light coming from the breach illuminate it so she could take a better look. There on the photograph four people grinned happily at her. Otaru in the middle, waving at whoever was taking the picture, Lime was at his right holding his hand down joyfully, while Cherry at his left held his waving arm and at the same time greeted her teeth at Bloodberry whose arms were wrapped around Otaru's neck and was smiling widely as she kept her cheek next to his. Looking at the photograph Lime's eyes started watering, she never realized how much she could miss Otaru to the point of hurting her inside. She sobbed and lifted her hand from the photograph to clean her eyes. _We're so happy together…_

"Lime…" She heard a voice calling while sliding the closet's door open to the side, letting the bedroom's light shower her and allowing Lime to see a dark silhouette in front of her. The silhouette kneeled down in front of her, red eyes looked just the same as her own, sad. "Lime, he's not here..."

"I was just remembering when we played hide and seek." Lime sniffed, tears coming down from her eyes faster. "As soon as I find whoever is doing this…"

"I know…" Bloodberry interrupted, the same feeling of revolt inside her stomach. "Come out of the closet, it's almost time." Bloodberry stretched her hand out to Lime who, accepting it, slowly crawled out from the closet and jumped to Bloodeberry hugging her close, letting the tears fall as she cried. In an ordinary day Bloodberry would already have pushed Lime aside and started complaining about how lame that was, but those were no ordinary days, not anymore. She hugged Lime back.

* * *

Night had fallen smoothly, the streets were now silent as a tall dark figure watched from the window of the higher tower of his castle. The uncomfortable feeling on his chest that things weren't as quite as he wished them to be. The feeling that something wasn't right. The disappearance of Otaru filled his mind every day now and the thought that he didn't have any idea of the responsible of that crime troubled him deeply. The room he was standing, lost in his deep thoughts, was dark, no light was on but the moonlight outside.

"Faust!" The door opened behind him revealing a small figure of a long haired girl supporting a body joined by another shadowy figure helping the body in between them up. The voice calling his name seemed worried, almost in panic. "Faust, help us." Lorelei cried. Faust turned around to see the sickest vision he never thought he would experience. Luchs was head down, her arms around Lorelei's and Panther's neck, her legs were numb, couldn't support her body alone. In her chest where her maiden's circuit once was stood a big hole letting out her wires and circuits sparking and leaking fluids. Faust ran towards the girls, taking Luchs in his arms.

"No… Luchs." He called in a cry getting on his knees with the broken marionette on his lap. Her heart had been ripped out as if a hand had dipped into her chest, get a hold of her heart and pushed it all out. Faust couldn't imagine how that must have been painful to her. Luchs body was flabby, lifeless, her eyes were grey, looking blank at Faust. He lifted his hand to her cheek and caressed it softly. That was too much for him, his heart beat fast and his hands closed into fists, shaking. He had made many mistakes in the past toward marionettes but he had changed his point of view, they had changed him into a better person, a person who cared about them. He thought about Tiger, he already had her without her maiden's circuit, he couldn't bare having Luchs without hers too. He turned at Lorelei, eyes contracted in a glare. "Who did this?"

"We found her like that outside the castle." Lorelei cried. "No one saw who did it."

Faust rose to his feet, carrying Luchs in his arms and headed towards the door.

"Come with me Lorelei, Panther. I'm taking her to the builders, she needs to be fixed and I need you by her side." Faust spoke. "After that, I won't rest until I find her maiden's circuit and the responsible for this cruelty."

* * *

Otaru moaned painfully while getting his torso up from the floor. He felt his face sore and his eyes puffy. His wrists were burning from the tight ropes and his legs were sleepy. He was covered in dust and his mouth felt dry. No one was in the room and he couldn't hear anyone outside. The perfect opportunity to find freedom. Looking around, he noticed there were some pieces of glass from the broken window pane on the floor. He tried to get up leaning against the wall, noticing he was in worse condition than what he thought. With tied ankles he jumped little by little to the other side of the room where the glass was laying, shining in the dark room. Sitting down once again, back turned at the pieces of glass, he managed to catch one with his fingers and get it into position to cut the ropes. As he sliced them from his wrists at his back, he found himself thinking that he hadn't notice those glasses on the floor earlier. Lucas seemed like the kind of psycho that doesn't let anything pass by him. Must there be someone trying to help Otaru? Who could it be though? Cutting free from the last round of rope seizing his wrists the lack of strength in his body took the best of him, he cut his finger causing it to start bleeding. Able to move his arms again he quickly lifted his finger to his mouth so it would stop bleeding. Now it was time for the feet.

* * *

The three marionettes approached the bridge pointed out on the paper they had found earlier. It was time to meet whoever had taken Otaru from them. Or so they thought that was it.

Laying Luchs down on the capsule where she would be repaired, although she wouldn't have a new maiden's circuit like Faust order it to be, he repeated to himself in his head he should have been more careful, his saber dolls should always have been by his side. He could have been able to protect Luchs. No, he wouldn't let that happen. He watched the hole on her chest, the wires showing out from it. Who could be able to do such cruelty. He noticed her opened eyes staring blankly at the roof. With his hand he closed them gently. _Rest… _

"I'm going to find your maiden circuit. You'll be the same Luchs again. I promise." He whispered looking down at the lifeless body.

* * *

Standing still at the entrance of the bridge, silently and not moving the marionettes awaited for whoever was coming. Slowly it started raining, though this rain brought sadness unlike the other rain Lime liked. Minutes later, the marionettes heard footsteps in front at the other side of the bridge. Three armed men appeared carrying shotguns on their hands aiming at the marionettes so they wouldn't get close, three dark shadows dressed in black clothes with faces covered. They stopped moving face to face at the marionettes with the wooden floor of the bridge in the middle.

"Where is Otaru?" Bloodberry finally yelled, her voice over the sound of the falling rain.

"You will receive instructions from our master soon." One of the men replied.

"Who is your master?" Cherry asked, loosing her patience.

"You will know soon enough. Until then, I suggest you stay put if you don't want your precious master Otaru to get hurt." Another one of the three answered.

"We won't follow instructions from anyone!" Bloodberry yelled. "We need to be sure Otaru is ok!"

The man in the middle of the three, reached for his pocket and took out a small square-like thin object that he threw at the marionettes in a ninja star. Lime caught it in between her fingers, not moving from where she was standing, analysing the men. Taking the object in her hand she looked down at it to see a photograph of Otaru with tied hands and ankles sitting down on the floor with back leaned against the wall. His eyes were opened although he looked tired and weak. As Lime lifted her head to look at the men they threw a smoke bomb at the floor meaning they were about to leave.

"No, you won't." Lime flashed towards the man in the middle, between the brown smoke she was able to reach for one man's shirt and pulled it back as they jumped away towards the houses past the bridge. The man started shooting randomly at the air desperate to hit Lime who struggled to get the man down. A bullet hit her arm making her scream as another bullet hit her leg. She reached for the shotgun and with all her might she threw it to her back, sitting down on the man's stomach, her knees on the ground holding the man in between her legs.

"Tell me where he is!" She punched the man's face strongly. The man looked up at her and started laughing uncontrollably. She punched him again on the other cheek, followed by another one and another one. "Tell me where Otaru is!" She yelled again, tears falling from her eyes, her clothes wet from the pouring rain. Still laughing, the man spit blood at her from his mouth. She greeted her teeth and kept punching him on the face unstoppable. Soon, the man was no longer moving, she turned the palm of her shaking hands at her, and the rain fell on her hands blending the blood with the water. Lime had never killed a man before. She had hurt many but never to the point of killing.


	5. A falling Star

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* * *

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**Note: I have so much to apologize for the very late update!! I'm really sorry! But I didn't give up on this!! Thank you so much to the people reviewing and still reading my story! I hope you like the new chapter!**

* * *

**Mechanical Hearts**

Chapter 5: A falling Star

Otaru rubbed and rubbed again the small piece of glass between his hands against the ropes that tightly held his ankles together. His arms were weak, shaking weak, but he had no intention of stopping what he was doing until he could finally be freed, even daring to make much more effort than what his limbs could handle.

He needed to escape that place whatever it cost him. Suddenly, a shadow moved from the only door of the room he was in. His eyes flickered, focusing on the shadow crossing the space in between.

Otaru tensed, that was no Lucas' men, that silhouette approaching was too small, too thin to be a beast. He stood still, waiting for whoever was coming, sure it couldn't be worse than what he had already been through. The silhouette was now standing in front of the young man, dark eyes glowing showing an expression of pity and deep inside worry for his condition.

A marionette.

Otaru scanned the girl attentively through his sore eyes. She stood majestically looking at him a minute before crouching on the floor in front of him. She was dressed in a tight spandex long-armed and long-legged bodysuit which glittered in the faint light with millions of what seemed like very tiny white diamonds. Otaru thought it looked like she was wearing a night sky full of stars.

She looked at him, a pale white face with dark blue eyes, long and straight black hair pulled up and tied in a high pony tail behind her head. Though she looked beautiful, her expression was hard to read. She demonstrated sad eyes but her mouth was pressed in a thin line, full of determination.

Something was telling Otaru that marionette was made to be a queen but somehow, the vestiges of brown dust on her cheeks and hands full of small white scars of many sizes and shapes, life had turned her into a mere servant.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner." Her voice spoke and like he had guessed it would be, a firm clear voice. But yet, a woman's voice ringing distantly in his ears, sore from, what he could feel now as she spoke, the beatings he'd taken. "I had to find an opening so I could come here talk to you."

"I don't understand…" Otaru whispered, looking for some air deep in his lugs, he noticed how hard it was for him to speak, his stomach contracted, hurting.

"My name is Star." The girl spoke now placing her right hand on top of Otaru's that he realized hadn't stop trying to cut the ropes holding his feet. Otaru paused what he was doing at her warm touch and listened. "I'm Lucas' marionette." Otaru's body stiffened, his eyes turned suspicious but before he could reply, Star interrupted him with her voice.

"Don't worry, I want to help you. I can't stand what he is doing to you but I'm only one in comparison with his troops. I'm so sorry for what they have done to you…" Her eyes looked away as if not bearing to look at his face no more. She continued.

"Every since I was awake, Lucas has been my master. At first we had fun, he treated me good although I've always noticed by the way he sometimes acted I was nothing but a tool to him, I always knew he didn't love me… Man to woman… the way he sometimes was so cold… but I was fine with that as long as he, well, needed me. Over the years it started getting worse though… He wanted power, he was blind with it and I didn't follow him, all I wanted was for him to be happy with me. My heart was never meant to be evil. And I know his isn't too…"

Star paused to sigh heavily, fighting the sudden urge to cry as she remembered something tormenting her mind.

"But it is way out of my control now. It's not his fault that I can't be the way he wanted me to, you know, a ruthless fighting machine that followed his orders. It's something within me…Usually marionettes are what their masters make of them, but I have MY feelings, I developed my own personality… Some even called me a new race of marionettes… independent, with the ability to be free from their masters, although I never really wanted to be away from Lucas." Otaru listened attentively with extra strength to hear her. He realized he couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl in front of him, he could tell she had been through a lot in the hands of that monster she called master.

"Star…" Otaru whispered again.

"It's alright, you don't have to sympathize with me… I'm only here to help you not to bother you with my story." She looked up at him, showing a tiny smile.

"Do you know anything about Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry?" Otaru managed to ask, pausing to take a painful breath.

"I know three men went to give them a message tonight and only two of them came back. They were saying the one who didn't come back died but managed to get one of the three hurt…" Star paused to examine Otaru's expression. If he was in pain already, he now felt like screaming in horror. He shook his head and continued slashing the ropes for freedom with a new source of strength.

_One of them got hurt… _

"Do you know who was it?" Otaru sobbed, not noticing the warm water falling silently from his eyes.

"I… I'm sorry I shouldn't have told you…"

"Do you know?" Otaru looked up to glare at the girl, with gritted teeth.

"I think I heard, the blue-haired one… She barged towards them and caught the man who didn't come back, he was armed…" Otaru could have guessed it, he let out a faint cry of despair.

"Get me out of here. Right now." His hands tightly gripped her collar and shook her threateningly.

"I have to ask you to be a little patient please." She spoke. "Now is not a good time. I will come back and the next time is to take you out of here I promise."

"No… I need to go now." Otaru placed a hand on the wall for support of getting up. Star reached for his shoulders and pulled him down.

"You're going to have to trust me, please. If you want to leave this place alive." Her eyes were serious, Otaru had no choice. He sighed in defeat and sat back down again, eyes closed while dropping his head down almost to his chest.

_I'm so tired, so sick of being here, I need them all so much.__ I don't know how much I can take._

But it was better have him alive than doing something stupid like taking everything to waste now and leave the three girls alone in that crazy world. Before he could find the strength to complain, Star held his chin up with one hand and with a finger softly opened his mouth pulling his lower lip down and helped him drink a glass of water she had brought him. Realizing what she was doing, Otaru eagerly took the glass of water in his hands and drank it down at once, parched. It was only then he noticed how dry his lips felt finally touching some water.

It was as if he had another layer of skin in his mouth since it took him some seconds to actually feel the water on his lips.

"Act like you were still tied…" Star said before getting up to leave.

"Thank you…" Otaru stretched to catch her wrist on his hand so she turned to him. "Really."

"I've heard about you through Lucas. Your marionettes are very lucky to have you." She gave him a warm smile and silently walked out of the room.

_Come on, don't give up… Wherever they are… They won't too. Lime, I know you'll be fine. You're the strongest. __I miss you all so much._

_I'm get out of here soon. They won't get hurt anymore because of me._

* * *

"Lorelei…" Cherry pleaded as she looked at the marionette sleeping peacefully down on the floor of the silent room. They had returned to the Castle after the events on the bridge. After what Lime had done she collapsed to the side sparkling. Cherry and Bloodberry had to carry her carefully back to Lorelei's Castle where the best builders of Japoness fixed some circuits that got loose inside Lime and repaired the shotgun's damages and wounds. "Will she be alright?"

"Lime has been through what it's called a _circuit meltdown. _It happens when a marionette is exposed to a huge charge of emotions causing her circuits to over-heat and meltdown. The only wires that do so are the ones closer to the heart, the maiden's circuit, which makes the marionette not think clearly and act completely lost and out of their conscious. Lime… killed that man as if she wasn't the one really doing it. She lost control of her feelings." Lorelei explained. "She has been taken care of now, she should be fine. She just needs to rest for a while to get fully recovered. Marionettes are run by such a complicated and very delicate system… You are all so amazing and unique."

"I feel so useless Lorelei." Bloodberry's hands were shaking. "I can't save Otaru, I can't protect Lime… If something happens to Cherry too, I don't know what to do…" Her eyes filled with anger tears.

"Bloodberry." Lorelei grabbed her hand and placed it in between hers to calm it down. "You can't put it all on your shoulders. You're doing the best you can."

"Yeah right." Blodberry spat sarcastically.

"Bloodberry… We're together in this… The three of us and we need to take care of each others. Wherever he is, we'll find Otaru and he will be so proud of our team work." Cherry spoke while imagining the four of them reunited again happily. "Don't blame yourself for everything that has happened. We need you so much."

"You know Cherry…" Bloodberry sighed. "I think he has always liked her the way we wanted him to like us."

"Otaru…" Lime mumbled through her deep sleep. The three girls that stood at the door turned their heads in her direction carrying with it a worried expression on their eyes. Those were difficult times to go through.


End file.
